Cleveland Museum of Art

Portrait of Genio C. Scott

Eastman Johnson

Date

1859

Medium

oil on canvas

Culture

America

Department

American Painting and Sculpture

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Eastman Johnson portrayed Genio Scott (1806–1879) as a gentleman of means wearing an informal, yet stylish robe in his New York residence. Scott had a successful career as a women’s fashion illustrator and magazine publisher, but his true passion was fly-fishing. Details reveal his attachment to the sport: two fishing poles lean on the wall; three tied flies lie on the table; a fourth is held in his hand, ready to be placed in his leather-bound fishing wallet. During his lifetime, Scott witnessed the decline of American fish species, a loss largely attributed to the dumping of industrial pollutants into waterways. In his contributions to sporting magazines, he protested this environmental degradation and advocated for measures to revitalize diminishing populations. Genio Scott's detailed writings describing 19th-century fish distribution remain highly useful for present-day conservationists.

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